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Tsnungwe

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Tsnungwe
tse꞉ning-xwe
łe꞉lding xontah - mouth of the South Fork of the Trinity River, principal Tsnungwe village
Total population
150-200
Regions with significant populations
California (Salyer )
Languages
Hupa, Chimariko

The Tsnungwe (current Hupa-language orthography, own name: Tse꞉ningxwe - "Tse꞉ning-din (Ironside Mountain) People") or Tsanunghwa are a Native American people indigenous to the modern areas of the lower South Fork Trinity River (yisinchʼing-qeh), Willow Creek (xoxol-ding), Salyer (miy-meʼ), Burnt Ranch (tse꞉n-ding/tse꞉ning-ding) and New River (Yiduq-nilin) along the Trinity River (hunʼ 'river') in Trinity and Humboldt County in California.[1] The Tsnungwe were a bilingual Hupa-Chimariko-speaking people and are known by the Hupa-speaking peoples as tse꞉ning-xwe.[2] The primary language was the Tsnungwe dialect of Hupa, and the secondary language was Chimariko, although spoken with a Hupa accent.[3]

The Tsnungwe include two sub-groups called łe꞉lxwe ('People of łe꞉l-ding') after their most important settlement and religious center, and the Chima꞉lxweʼ/Chimalakwe/Tłʼoh-mitah-xwe ('grass, prairies-amongst-people') along New River. The Karuk living north of the Salmon River Divide called the Chima꞉lxweʼ/Chimalakwe/Tłʼoh-mitah-xwe Akráak vaʼára ('New River People').[4] The Norelmuk Wintu from Hayfork called the Tsnungwe Num-nor-muk.[5]

Because their language is a dialect of the Hupa language, they are also called South Fork Hupa. Other tribal names refer to their territories occupied: South Fork Indians, Burnt Ranch, South Fork Trinity Tribe, and Kelta/Tlelwe/Hlelwe/Tlelding/Leldin Tribe or Tlohomtahhoi, Chaltasom.[6]

Neighboring tribes to the Tsnungwe include the Yurok, Redwood Creek Hupa, Hoopa Valley Hupa, Wiyot, Chimariko, Shasta, Karuk, and Wintu. Often times, Tsnungwe spoke many Native languages.[7] C. Hart Merriam referred to Tsnungwe leader Saxey Kidd as "a well-known polyglot," speaker of many languages.

History

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The first documented meeting between Tsnungwe people and non-Indigenous travelers occurred in 1828, when Jedediah Smith's expedition traveled through the South Fork Trinity region. In November 1849, the Josiah Gregg expedition reached łe꞉lding, where Tsnungwe residents traded with the travelers and advised them to travel west toward Whilkut territory.[8]

During the 1850s and early 1860s, the Tsnungwe, Whilkut, and Mawenok formed the core of an Athabascan alliance that resisted settler and military incursions. In August 1864, California superintendent of Indian affairs Austin Wiley promulgated a peace agreement—described at the time as a treaty—that identified the Tsnungwe geographically as the “South Fork” and “Grouse Creek” Indians and required them to move to the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation. Many Tsnungwe soon returned to their homeland because of poor living conditions, although numerous village and home sites had been occupied by miners and settlers.[9]

Federal recognition

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The Tsnungwe Council is not currently federally recognized.[10] Historian Jerry Rohde writes that the Tsnungwe have never been granted formal tribal status and that their subsequent efforts to obtain federal recognition have been unsuccessful.[11] The council submitted a letter of intent to petition for federal acknowledgment on September 22, 1992.[12]

The council characterizes its recognition effort as an effort to restore an earlier status, citing early twentieth-century federal maps and censuses that identified Tsnungwe people as the “Trinity Tribe.”[13] Testimony presented to the United States House Committee on Resources in 2004 stated that the Office of Federal Acknowledgment had issued the Tsnungwe Council a formal determination of “previous unambiguous Federal recognition.”[14]

Culture

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The traditional Tsnungwe diet included salmon, steelhead, Pacific lamprey "eels", black tail deer, and other local animals and plants.[15][16]

Language

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The language of the Tsnungwe is considered a dialect of the Hupa language of the Pacific Coast Athabaskan language group of North American native languages. This language (Diningʼxine꞉wh 'Hupa-speaking people', 'Hupa Indians') with various dialects is spoken (Tse꞉ning-xwe, dialect of South Fork and New River areas); (na꞉tinixwe 'Hoopa Valley Hupa'); (Chilula/Whilkut/Me꞉w-yinaq/Whiyłqit 'Redwood Creek Hupa').[17][18]

Villages

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Willow Creek area villages

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misqine꞉qʼit/nisking-qʼit, nantsʼing-tah (Clover Flat), niskin-ji-ding/niskinje꞉ndihding (upriver from Willow Creek), da꞉chwanʼ-ding (opposite niskin-ji-ding), da꞉chwanʼ-ding mima꞉n-chʼing (opposite of da꞉chwunʼ-ding, Camp Kimtu), saqe꞉qʼit (alternative: so-keʼa-keit, sock-kail-kit), saqe꞉qʼit mima꞉n-chʼing (opposite of saqe꞉qʼit), yinaq-xa꞉-ding/yinuq xa꞉-ti-nit (all three at Willow Creek), tłʼohday-kyoh-qʼit, xowiykʼiłxowh-ding (formerly: kʼiqin-saʼan-ding, Knight's Trailer Park), tse꞉-ding (opposite xowiykʼiłxowh-ding/Knight's Trailer Park), xoxo꞉chʼe꞉lding (at the mouth of Willow Creek), minqʼit-ch-ding (Enchanted Springs), qʼaykist chʼe꞉xahsding (Gambi's, formerly: China Flat), tʼunchwing-tah (alternative: tash-huan-tat, tash-wan-ta), dʼahilding (alternative: a-hel-tah, ta-hail-ta, Whitson's), yinaq-xa꞉-ding (just above the mouth of Willow Creek).[19][20]

South Fork Trinity area (yisinchʼing-qeh) villages

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łe꞉l-ding (also: Tlelding 'place where the rivers (South Fork and Trinity) meet', about one mile downriver from today's Salyer, largest and leading Tsnungwe settlement; ancient times: a kʼixinay village), including the three sub-villages me꞉łchwin-qʼit, ta꞉kʼiwe꞉ltsil-qʼit (on the other side of the mouth of the South Fork), ta꞉ngʼay-qʼit (old name was mituqʼ-qʼit-ding); chʼiłte꞉l-ding, chway-meʼ (Sandy Bar), dahchiwh-ding (about 12 miles above the mouth of the river), dilchwehch-ding (also: hay nahdiyaw tehłchwin-ding 'place where the money grows, once an important rich settlement at the mouth of Campbell Creek),łichiwh-ding, tłʼoh-wa꞉ne/xołtsowch-ding (Saxey Ranch), niłtuq-tah-ding (mouth of Mosquito Creek into Grouse Creek), qosta꞉n-ding, yahtsʼameʼ, yidahtichʼinahding (Ammon Ranch), yunihting (Todd Ranch).

Trinity River (South Fork – Cedar Flat area) villages

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hunʼ-kya꞉w-qeh (at Trinity River), ti-dił -ding (downstream from Salyer), xoling-kyoh-miye, miy-meʼ (alternative: meʼ-yemma, me-em-ma, Old Campbell Ranch/Fountain Ranch), kʼinunqʼ-ding, tse꞉-qʼit (Swanson's), no꞉kʼiwowh-ding (downstream from tse꞉-qʼit/Swanson's), kin-saʼan-ting (Irvings, Hawkins Bar), tse꞉łe꞉nga꞉ding (downstream from kin-saʼan-ting/Irvings), ta꞉wha꞉ wh-ding (Gray's Flat), xowung-qʼit (at a lake, near xwedaʼay-saʼan-meʼ/Chesbro's), xwedaʼay-saʼan-meʼ (Wells, Chesbro's).

Burnt Ranch and New River area villages

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tse꞉n-ding/tse꞉-nung-din (Burnt Ranch, large settlement), tse꞉nung-axis-ding (near China Slide, upstream from yinuq-dinung-ting/McDonald's at Burnt Ranch), yinuq-dinung-ting (McDonald Ranch, Burnt Ranch), chʼe꞉nantiłting (at the mouth of the New River), chʼe꞉na꞉dawhding (Dyer's, Bell's Flat), chʼixe꞉ne꞉wh-din (also: ʼxolish na꞉xoxuyntaʼ – Martha Dyer Ziegler's, upstream from qowh-ding), kʼiłna꞉dil mitoʼ (Hoboken), kʼiyawh-michwan (at China Creek, also: xolish chʼena꞉xolxolding – China Creek), łige꞉y de꞉-dilła꞉t-ding (upstream from tłʼohne꞉s-ding/Quimby), tłʼohne꞉s-ding (at the mouth of Quinby Creek, Ladd's, Thomas', Quimby), qowh-ding (south of Panther Creek), tłʼohschʼilʼe꞉n-ding (Daily's, before: Moses Patterson), tse꞉na꞉ningʼa꞉ding (at the confluence of East Fork and New River), yiduq-nilin (New River), yiduq-łe꞉na꞉lding (at the forks of the New River upstream from Denny), tłʼoh-mitah-xwe (Hupa speakers in New River villages).

References

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  1. ↑ Rowley, Max; Wooden, Margaret. "Big River: A Look at the South Fork of the Trinity by Max Rowley and Margaret Wooden". Humboldt Historian. 50 (1, Spring 2002): 15–23.
  2. ↑ "Chesbo family, Burnt Ranch. August 1921 1". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ Hupa Language Dictionary - 2nd Edition, pages iii and 100
  4. ↑ Ararahihʼurípih - Karuk Dictionary
  5. ↑ Ethnogeographic and Ethnosynosymic Data from Northern California Tribes, by C. Hart Merriam, pages 111-112, Edited by Robert Heizer, Archaeological Research Facility, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1976
  6. ↑ Tsnungwe Place Names, by Tsnungwe Tribal Elders, 1994
  7. ↑ Map by C. Hart Merriam, Bureau of American Ethnology
  8. ↑ Rohde, Jerry (2025). Northern Humboldt Indians: History of Humboldt County People and Places. The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt. pp. 247–249. ISBN 978-1-962081-28-3.
  9. ↑ Rohde, Jerry (2025). Northern Humboldt Indians: History of Humboldt County People and Places. The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt. pp. 244–246, 269–270. ISBN 978-1-962081-28-3.
  10. ↑ "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Federal Register. Bureau of Indian Affairs. January 30, 2026. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  11. ↑ Rohde, Jerry (2025). Northern Humboldt Indians: History of Humboldt County People and Places. The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt. pp. 246, 276. ISBN 978-1-962081-28-3.
  12. ↑ List of Petitioners by State (PDF) (Report). Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Bureau of Indian Affairs. November 12, 2013. p. 9. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Previous Recognition by the United States Government of the Tsnungwe Tribe". Tsnungwe Council. September 2001. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  14. ↑ Federal Recognition and Acknowledgment Process by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (PDF) (Report). U.S. Government Printing Office. March 31, 2004. pp. 25, 28. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Tsnungwe Narrative". www.dcn.davis.ca.us. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Tsnungwe Council – NAHC Digital Atlas". nahc.ca.gov. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  17. ↑ California Athabascan Groups by Martin Baumhoff, Anthropological Records 16:5, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1958
  18. ↑ "Hupa, Chilula and Whilkut" by William J. Wallace, Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 8: California, 1978
  19. ↑ Northern and Central California: Chimariko/Hupa, John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. Interview with Saxey Kidd, 1928
  20. ↑ Ethnogeographic and Ethnosynosymic Data from Northern California Tribes, by C. Hart Merriam, pages 111-112, Edited by Robert Heizer, Archaeological Research Facility, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1976
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